The Executive Board would like to thank each and every one of you for a wonderful year. Through your support, the Tampa Bay Chapter had a twenty-five percent membership increase. Because of you, we were able to extend our presence in the Community, the Southern Region and at the National level. It is our hope that with your continued support, the Tampa Bay Chapter will be able to continue to be one of the premier Chapters of the National Association of Black Accountants.

Last year, we partnered with 100 Black Men of Tampa Bay through a grant from Bank of America to offer a four week educational program for students at Middleton High School. For the second year, we were table captains for Teaching Tools of Hillsborough County, where we have been able to raise lots of money to assist the teachers of Hillsborough County. We also tripled the amount of financial literacy programs throughout the county, offered general meetings focusing on Identity Theft, Career Development and Professional Growth, just to name a few.

We will continue to give back to the community in any way we can. We will again participate in the Black Heritage Festival, the MLK Parade, sponsor Relay for Life and offer free tax preparation through VITA, a partnership with the IRS.

Special thanks go out to our Corporate Partners:

The Coca-Cola Company

Fifth Third Bank

Prudential

MetLife

Crowe-Howarth

I would also like to thank and recognize our wonderful Student Chapter and Executive Board. Our Student Chapter consists of students from the University of South Florida, the University of Tampa and St. Leo. The Student Chapter is a very intricate part of the Mission of NABA, “Lifting as We Climb”. Each year, the Professional Chapter offers several leadership training classes for our students. These training or technical sessions include resume writing, interview readiness and power networking just to name a few. We also offer Academic scholarships and Becker CPA review scholarships.

To the Executive Board, I personally would like to thank each of you. This great group of individuals work very hard to continue to grow our Chapter and provide opportunities for our members. Because of you, our Chapter was recognized this year at the National Convention in Phoenix, AZ and I was named Chapter President of the year of the Southern Region. This is an honor I truly share with each and every one of you.

Thank you all again for all you have done. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.